Little Lion
by Reawakened Clam
Summary: It was an unsightly thing, really. What fourteen year old boy would have a stuffed lion toy of all things just sitting innocently on his bed? Reborn decides to do a little bit of digging. AKA The story for why Tsuna has a crush on Kyoko. One-Shot.


When Reborn first saw it, he immediately started walking over to grab it and chuck it out the window. It was an unsightly thing, really, what _fourteen_ year old _boy_ would have such a thing? It was _immature_ , and no mafia boss should have one just sitting there, innocently on his bed.

Tsuna, noticing what he was about to do, practically jumped over his head and snatched it away, hugging the thing to his chest protectively. The little, fluffy stuffed lion hung in his arms, worn from use but clearly cared for.

Tsuna growled protectively as he hugged it tighter, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

 _Growled_.

 _Tsuna_ just _growled_ at _Reborn_ , the _Greatest Hitman_ in the _World_ (yes the capitalization is needed don't ask), over a _stuffed lion_.

Reborn quirked a brow at this behaviour. It was the first time the boy had gotten overly defensive over something like this against him.

Tsuna merely narrowed his eyes cautiously at Reborn, running a thumb through the toy's mane in a small show of nervousness.

The hitman wisely didn't say anything, watching curiously as Tsuna scooted around him to plop down on his bed, still hugging the thing.

He supposed it was kind of cute, the lion had fuzzy yellow fur and a fluffy golden-brown mane, and small beady black eyes. Simple, but cute, in a way. (Though he'd still argue that larvae and stag beetles were the real definition of cute here, show him the _true_ beauties of the world.)

It was interesting though, how his student, the heir to Vongola, who's father was called "The Young Lion of Vongola", had a stuffed _lion_ of all things.

When Reborn questioned him later, his only response was a short "I still have to return it to someone..."

Reborn decided to look into it later.

 **~KHR~**

Nana blinked in surprise, turning to face Reborn, who was seated at the table in the kitchen. "Ah, where did Tsu-kun get his lion?"

Reborn nodded, tracing a finger along the brim of his fedora. "I was curious as to why a fourteen year old would have one, Mama."

Nana paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "Tsu-kun's had it for years now, just came home with it one day when he was... six, was it?" She placed a finger on her chin as she tried to remember. After a momment, she nodded, brightening a bit. "Yes, six. He had cuts and bruises all over - such a clumsy boy, really - but he looked really happy and wouldn't let go of it."

Part of Reborn wanted to thank her for the small amount of info he got, and another wanted to shoot something. He was pretty sure the bruises and cuts werent just from merely _tripping_.

He resorted to just saying nothing, choosing to just nod at her as he hopped out of his chair. Nana just turned and continued cooking more of that heavenly food with a hum. She _couldn't_ be human when it came to cooking.

He turned the corner, stopping in front of the bathroom. _So he's had it for eight whole years, and came home bruised but seemed happy? Something must've happened after the bullies left, probably how he obtained it._

Reborn felt he needed to know why and how his No-Good student got that thing. It wasn't all that important, but he's _Reborn_ and needs to know everything about his students.

Time to ask his informants then.

 **~KHR - Eight Years Ago - KHR~**

Kyoko felt joy flood her heart, a bright smile making its way onto her face. Her feet pounded against the ground as she ran around the playground in the park, hands curled around her new toy; a stuffed lion!

She absolutely adored it, it was so fluffy and cute even though lions are big and scary but cool at the same time. All in one!

She tossed her hands into the air as she ran, watching in fascination as she watched it's fluffy mane whip around in the wind. The lion could fly!

Over near the moneky bars, Ryohei was trying to climb them all the while yelling "EXTREME TRAINING" in a high pitched and squeaky voice. Their mother was watching him like a hawk, hovering by in case he slipped. Their dad was watching her run around, a smile on his face.

When her heart was beating a little too quickly and her legs ached, she finally slowed to a stop, bringing her hands down to hug her little lion to her chest. She ignored the other kids running around the playground and her brother's yells of "EXTREME" to stumble over to the swing set. If her lion could fly, surely she could too!

Just before she sat down, she looked up to quickly check for her parents.

Instead, Kyoko found a kid sitting in the sand pit by himself.

From where she was, it was clear people were avoiding the sand pit. It was pretty boring so she didn't blame them. Why did he play in it then? It looks lonely.

Kyoko hopped off the swing set as soon as she had sat down, and made her way over to the boy.

He was crouched in the sand, completely barefoot as he dug a hole.

How boring.

"Hey!" Kyoko piped up happily, making the poor kid nearly jump out of his skin.

He whipped around, brown eyes wide and... scared? He slipped from his position and fell on his butt with a yelp. Small hands gripped the sand as he stared at her in d... disb... that word she heard daddy use.

"Y-yeah?" He stuttered out, looking around for anyone else this cute girl could be talking to. When he turned back, he was met with a faceful of Joyful Rainbow Smile Ver 3.5.

Kyoko dropped to her knees next to him, glancing at the hole, then back at the now very confused boy. "What'cha doin'?"

He blinked, looking even more confused. "U-um, nothin'..."

Kyoko pouted, staring at him wanting a better answer than that. Now that she was closer, she saw the dark colored patches of skin on the boy's body, peeking out from under his long sleeved shirt and shorts, and the small scratches and cuts on his face. His cheeks were red and his eyes were puffy from crying, and his wild brown hair was a mess, a few leaves and twigs sticking out of it.

 _Owie_.

Kyoko reached over and patted his head, earning her a very, very confused look that just questioned everything now.

 _Fluffy..._

Kyoko perked up at the sudden genius idea _. He has an owie and is sad, so I just have to make him happy, right? What makes me happy...?_

Kyoko paused, before she picked up the stuffed lion and set it into his hands, giving him a smile. "Here! You can have it!"

The boy looked ready to have a heart attack. He fumbled with the lion, mouth open in surprise. "Wh-what? I-I can't j-"

Kyoko grabbed his sleeve, making him look her in the eye. "Wanna play?"

An awkward silence, before a hopeful smile appeared on the boy's face. He looked _way_ better smiling. "U-um, alright!"

"My name's Kyoko!"

"Ts-Tsuna."

"Let's go get Brother to play Dragons with us, Tsuna-kun!"

"HIEEE D-DRAGONS?!"

 **~KHR~**

Kyoko shouldered her schoolbag, giving the door a light knock. It was finally the weekend, and she had come over to the Sawada house for an assignment their Science teacher had assigned to pairs. (Thank goodness Nezu had been fired, or else this assignment would have been impossible to finish.)

Nana quickly answered the door, a cheer escaping her lips and she welcomed Kyoko into her and Tsuna's home.

She'd been there a few times, and it really was a nice place. She was still salty about Nana continuously calling Tsuna 'pathetic' though. Kyoko swore she had a weird dream where she tried getting Nana to take it back at some point.

Nana made her way to the kutchen, humming a song Kyoko didn't recognise as she settled in the living room.

After a few moments of sitting by herself, she saw Reborn make his way into the living room. The fedora wearing baby glanced over at her, beady black eyes showing no emotion, but the amusement laced in his tone was already piquing her interest even if what he said wasn't all that spectacular. "No-Good Tsuna's still asleep, you can go wake him up."

And with that he promptly left for the kitchen.

 _Wait why me?_

Kyoko pondered it for a second, but just shrugged, setting her stuff down as she made her way up the stairs. It wasn't a big deal, she woke up Ryohei all the time, so this shouldn't be any different. She glanced around, noting the little tuna shaped sign on one of the doors. She still couldn't get over that, _Tuna-Fish Tsuna_.

Kyoko sharply knocked on the door, hoping her knocking would be enough to wake him up.

After a long momment of silence, she called out, "Tsuna-kun? I'm here for the assignment."

Still nothing.

Kyoko chuckled to herself, opening the door. Really, both Tsuna and her brother were so alike, they slept like rocks!

 _His room's a lot cleaner compared to last time_ , was her first thought.

 _How is he still sleeping? It's 1:30 in the afternoon!_ was her second.

 _I didn't know he liked baby chick printed PJs_ , was her oh-so brilliant third.

Kyoko walked over to the bed, reaching over to wake him up, until something caught her eye.

He was hugging a stuffed lion.

... She could feel her internal Moe Meter explode.

It took a moment, until she noticed more about it. The lion was clearly old and worn, but was still in good shape. Fuzzy yellow fur, fluffy golden-brown mane, beady black eyes-

 _Wait._

Kyoko's eyes widened as she leaned in to stare closer. _That's... that's the same one from eight years ago_. The memories hit her hard, and she backed up, letting out a barely concealed gasp.

 _It's the same one._

 _He still has it._

 _He actually kept it._

She had half a mind to take out her phone and snap a photo, but she refrained, freezing a bit as she saw Tsuna shift a bit, shivering as if having a bad dream. His brow was furrowed and a scowl graced his lips. It looked... wrong.

He tightened his grip on the toy, burying his face into it's mane before his expression softened.

Kyoko stood still, eyes on the stuffed animal. _He kept it after all this time and even cuddles with it in his sleep..._

A small smile slipped onto her face, voice a low whisper, "You can really keep it, Tsuna-kun. You need it more than I do."

When Tsuna woke up a couple minutes later thanks to a Leon-Hammer to the head, all he could really do was apologise profusely to Kyoko who just took it all in stride.

 **~KHR~**

Reborn chuckled to himself as he watched his dumb student flail around helplessly as he tried catching a good time to return that little stuffed animal to Kyoko. Really, it was pretty amusing, but...

Reborn eyed the little thing in his arms as the fourteen year old peeked around the corner. It was important to his student, so he wouldn't comment.

In the end, Tsuna never got the chance to return it until they were adults, and it was extremely embarassing for the man when Kyoko just gave it back with a sweet smile.

 **~KHR~**

 **A/N: So this random thing popped outta nowhere huh? Well this is a sorta explanation to Tsuna's puppy-like love for Kyoko. First time writing Kyoko, probably soo OOC, ugh. If you're wondering why she didn't complain about having to go wake Tsuna up, well she just took it the same way she would if her parents wanted her to wake up her brother.**

 **Just tossing a bit of writing practice up on the internet, I'd like to hear your thoughts in the reviews.**


End file.
